Tulsa Golden Hurricane football

{{See also|List of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football seasons}}

Tulsa was known as Henry Kendall College until the move from Muskogee to Tulsa was completed in 1907."History of the University of Tulsa." [https://web.archive.org/web/20070502134257/http://www.utulsa.edu/about/history.html Site.] Retrieved on February 7, 2009. It was during this time that the first football team would represent the University.Bonham: 9 The team would go 1–0, defeating the Bacone Indians.ESPN: 900 Both the exact date and score of the game were not recorded. Over the next 12 years, Kendall would play 17 games, going 8–8–1, but not fielding a team for four years (1903, 1904, 1906, 1907). The most common opponent was Arkansas, who met with Tulsa four times. Now established in Tulsa, the football team began to grow. In 1913, Kendall went 5–2 under George Evans. Sam P. McBirney, who coached the 2–3 1908 squad, would then return to coach the team in 1914. His first two years back would both be successful, a 6–2 record in 1914 and 6–1–1 the following year, but the undefeated 1916 squad would bring national recognition to Tulsa. The 1916 Hurricane outscored its opponents 566–40, including an 81–0 defeat of Cumberland (TN) and a 117–0 drubbing of Missouri–Rolla. There were rumors of playing Notre Dame for the Mid-America Championship, but the two teams never met. Kendall College would return to form after World War I, to go 8–0–1 under Francis Schmidt. The new coach was known as Francis "Close the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt because of his efforts to run up the score on inferior teams."Francis A. Schmidt." [https://archive.today/20120707102059/http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30135 Hall of Fame Profile.] College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on February 7, 2009. Under Schmidt's three-year tenure, Kendall defeated Oklahoma Baptist 152–0, St. Gregory 121–0, and NE Oklahoma 151–0, as well as a 92–0 defeat of East Central Oklahoma and 10 other victories by 60+ points. The 1919 season gave Kendall their first defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners, but a 7–7 tie with Oklahoma A&M would prevent a perfect season. Ultimately, Schmidt's style would cost Tulsa their coach, as he attracted the attention of University of Arkansas boosters with a 63–7 defeat of the Razorbacks in 1919. Schmidt would sign with and coach the Hogs from 1922–1928."Francis Schmidt Coaching Profile." [https://web.archive.org/web/20081015072732/http://www.hogdb.com/db/coaching-records/14/Francis-Schmidt/ Profile.] Retrieved on February 7, 2009. Howard Acher would leave his mark on the program in two ways. Tulsa did not miss a beat after Schmidt's departure, and went 8–0 in 1922. This included a 13–6 defeat of Schmidt-coached Arkansas in Fayetteville. Acher also gave the newly named University of Tulsa an athletic identity.ESPN: 898 Previously, the team had been referred to as "Orange and Black", "Kendallites", "Presbyterians", "Tigers", and "Tulsans".ESPN: 897 Acher put a vote to the team to replace Golden Tornadoes, which belonged to Georgia Tech.Bonham: 10 The vote resulted in "Golden Hurricane", which it has remained ever since. The coach would not have the staying power of his nickname, however, and was ousted after three years, when he was replaced by Gus Henderson. TU gave Henderson a large contract to leave the mighty Trojans of USC and coach the Golden Hurricane. The Hurricane had great success on and off the field under Henderson, going 62–17–3 in his first nine years, winning four Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference championships. Henderson also played an integral part in building a home for his football team. The team played in McNulty Park, a 90-yard baseball field where the teams had to drive the length of the field before bringing out the ball to the ten yard line and put the ball in the endzone again. This facility shortcoming meant that officials had to make a judgment call whether the player could've scored or not.Rutland, Robert. "The Golden Hurricane: Fifty Years of Football at the University of Tulsa, 1895–1945." Tulsa Quarterback Club. (1953) OCLC: 3337415 Many fights resulted from what other schools thought was favoritism by the officials on these calls. Skelly Field, named for oil tycoon William Skelly, was completed in 1930. Tulsa won the first game in the stadium, 26–6 over Arkansas. Tulsa also scored on the first offensive play in the stadium, after Arkansas fumbled the opening kickoff."Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium" [http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/facilities/tuls-skelly-stadium.html Stadium Page.] The University of Tulsa Official Athletic Site. Retrieved on February 7, 2009. Henderson brought the University of Tulsa into the Missouri Valley Conference for the 1935 season.

Tulsa signed their 13th head coach, Henry Frnka, who was coaching at a high school in Greenville, Texas. Under Frnka, Tulsa roared through the 1941 season, finishing 7–2 and receiving their first bowl invitation."Henry Frnka." [http://www.tulsahurricane.com/genrel/frnka_henry00.html Article.] Retrieved on March 7, 2009. It was the help of Glenn Dobbs, considered the best player in Tulsa history, that Frnka could take the Hurricane to new heights. Tulsa defeated Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl because of a Glenn Dobbs pass to Sax Judd with little time remaining, the only score of the game."Sun Bowl

History." [http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/bowl_games_history_sun.html Website.] Retrieved on March 7, 2009. Tulsa improved in 1942, going 10–0, including wins against Oklahoma (23–0), Oklahoma A&M (34–6), and Arkansas (40–7). This netted the Golden Hurricane an invitation to the 1943 Sugar Bowl against Tennessee. Tulsa lost the game and argument for national champion on a late Volunteer touchdown.ESPN: 1466 Tulsa was instead ranked fourth to end the year, the highest in school history.Bonham: 25 The 1952 Missouri Valley Conference team with its 8–2–1 record climbed to 11th in the AP Poll & was invited to the Gator Bowl, then 1 of only 5 post-season bowl games, although not one of the 4 major ones. In 1955, Tulsa offered Bobby Dobbs the head football coaching job. Bobby accepted and left the Air Force. At Tulsa, he took over a team that had gone 0–11 the previous season. In 1956, Tulsa posted a 7–2–1 record, and in 1958, the team 7–3. These successes prompted Army to consider Bobby as a replacement for Red Blaik, but Dale Hall was given the job instead. Dobbs most significant wins at Tulsa were a 24–16 victory over the undefeated Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1958 and a 17–6 victory over tenth ranked North Texas in 1959. Dobbs compiled a 30–28–2 overall record at Tulsa.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/robert-dobbs-1.html|title=Robert Dobbs Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} Tulsa replaced Bobby Dobbs with his brother, Glenn, in 1961.Richard Goldstein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/15/sports/glenn-dobbs-82-star-player-and-coach-of-tulsa-football.html "Glenn Dobbs, 82, Star Player And Coach of Tulsa Football,"] New York Times, November 15, 2002. His teams led the nation in passing for five straight years (1962–1966) and went to the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1964 and 1965.James Hart, [http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/article.asp?article=1560 "Passing of a Hurricane Legend"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528060414/http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/article.asp?article=1560 |date=May 28, 2010}}, University of Tulsa Collegian, November 19, 2002. Notable in Tulsa football tradition are the Missouri Valley Conference teams of 1964 and 1965 which compiled records of 9–2 and 8–3 and played in the Bluebonnet Bowl in both years. The passing attack featured Jerry Rhome to Howard Twilley, both of whom achieved lengthy careers in professional football; Rhome polled second in the 1964 Heisman Trophy; Rhome and Twilley are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Steve Largent was another talented Tulsa receiver who graduated to a long NFL career (1976–1989 Seattle), was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame because of numerous enduring records as a receiver, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994–2002, and then ran as one of the two major candidates for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. The Golden Hurricane won 25 Missouri Valley conference football titles the most of any school that competed in that league. Tulsa was the only team to play in five consecutive New Year's Day bowl games. The Golden Hurricane also was handed one of the worst defeats in college football history when they were beaten in regular season play by Houston Cougars 100–6 on November 23, 1968.Brian Phillips, [http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9875366/dr-phil-wild-houston-tulsa-college-football-game "But It Did Happen: The completely bonkers, wildly unbelievable, mind-bogglingly lopsided Tulsa-Houston game of 1968, featuring a future NFL coach, a country singer, and … Dr. Phil"], Grantland.com, October 25, 2013. Dr. Phil McGraw played for TU at the time.The Making of Dr. Phil: The Straight-Talking True Story of Everyone's Favorite Therapist; Sophia Dembling, Lisa Gutierrez; John Wiley and Sons, 2003. p. 247 Vince Carillot succeeded Dobbs as head coach. However, he resigned after only one season, a 1–9 campaign in 1969, after an NCAA probe into possible infractions that occurred under his watch.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4501229/carillot_resigns_as_tulsa_coach/|title=Carillot Resigns as Tulsa Coach|newspaper=Beckley Post-Herald|date=July 23, 1970|pages=2|via=newspapers.com}}

In July 1970, Claude Gibson was elevated to interim head coach when Golden Hurricane coach Vince Carillot resigned. When Gibson's Tulsa squad started the season 4–1, which included a stunning upset of Memphis, a team Tulsa had not beaten in six years, the interim label was removed. His first Golden Hurricane team finished 6–4.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1970-schedule.html|title=1970 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} However, a 4–7 record in 1971 and a 1–5 start to the 1972 season did him in, as he was fired. F. A. Dry was donned the interim tag when Gibson was fired, and a 3–2 finish to the 1972 season earned him the permanent head coaching position. Dry's Hurricane compiled records of 6–5 in 1973,{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1973-schedule.html|title=1973 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} 8–3 in 1974,{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1974-schedule.html|title=1974 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} 7–4 in 1975,{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1975-schedule.html|title=1975 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} and 7–4–1 in 1976{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1976-schedule.html|title=1976 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} for a total of 31–18–1.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/f-dry-1.html|title=F. Dry Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} Dry departed Tulsa after the 1976 season to accept the head football coach position at TCU.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/09/24/ex-tcu-coach-blamed-for-slush-fund/|title=Ex-tcu Coach Blamed For Slush Fund|date=24 September 1985 }}

In 1977, John Cooper was named the head football coach at Tulsa. At Tulsa, he compiled a 56–32 record with five Missouri Valley Conference titles.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/john-cooper-2.html|title=John Cooper Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}{{cite web|title=John Cooper|url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.fansonly.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/cooper_john01.html|publisher=Ohio State Buckeyes|access-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010305195222/http://ohiostatebuckeyes.fansonly.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/cooper_john01.html|archive-date=March 5, 2001}} Cooper considers his tenure at Tulsa his "most enjoyable years as a coach".{{cite web|author=Klein, John|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/cooper-gave-tu-football-a-huge-boost/article_a25c1d2f-7a9d-5a2b-9339-f4b2278aafee.html|title=Cooper gave TU football a huge boost|work=Tulsa World|date=July 14, 2009}} For most of his tenure, Tulsa had trouble attracting enough fans to meet the minimum requirements to stay in Division I-A, and were forced to pad their gates. While they claimed to have attracted over 35,000 people per game, the actual average attendance was closer to 17,000.{{cite book|title=Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL|last=Pearlman|first=Jeff|author-link=Jeff Pearlman|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|date=2018|isbn=978-0544454385}}{{cite book|title=The United States Football League, 1982-1986|last=Reeths|first=Paul|publisher=McFarland & Company|date=2017|isbn=978-1476667447}} Cooper departed Tulsa after the 1984 season to accept the position of head football coach at Arizona State.{{cite web|url=http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballaz/g/John-Cooper.htm|title=All About D. B. Cooper}}

North Dakota State head coach Don Morton was hired to replace Cooper in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.bisonillustrated.com/don-morton-says-good-bye/|title=Don Morton Says Good-Bye|website=www.bisonillustrated.com|date=3 July 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/article/2103022|title=Tulsa Picks Morton to Succeed Cooper|date=March 26, 1985}} Under Morton's tutelage, the Hurricane compiled a record of 13–9.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/don-morton-1.html|title=Don Morton Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}

The Missouri Valley dropped football after the 1985 season. Tulsa, by this time the MVC's only Division I-A member in football, became an independent. Morton left Tulsa after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Wisconsin.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/11/29/morton-fired-as-wisconsin-football-coach/|title=Morton Fired As Wisconsin Football Coach|date=29 November 1989 }} On November 2, 1985, Tulsa became the first NCAA football team to get two 200-yard rushing performances from two running backs in the same game. Gordon Brown rushed for 214 yards, and Steve Gage rushed for 206 in a 42–26 win over Wichita State.National Sports Review – The Best and Worst of the '80s: Stories & Anecdotes, Quotes & Lists & Hypes, Passions & Amusements, published 1989, Preview Publishing and InfoSports, p.88

Alabama offensive coordinator and offensive line coach George Henshaw was selected as Morton's replacement. Henshaw would only stick around for one season, a 3–8 campaign in 1987, before departing to accept the position of offensive line coach for the NFL's Denver Broncos, leaving the Hurricane to search for their third head coach in four years.{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/article/2218436|title=Henshaw Might Coach Bronco QBs|date=10 March 1988}}

David Rader was promoted from quarterbacks coach and associate head coach to replace Henshaw.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-18-sp-394-story.html|title=No Bad-Mouth Football for Tulsa's Coach : College football: Former Charger draft pick David Rader won't curse. But he's blessed with a winning team.|first=SCOTT|last=MILLER|date=18 December 1991|via=LA Times}} Rader led Tulsa to a school-record 10 wins and finished ranked No. 21 in the AP poll in 1991,{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/1991-schedule.html|title=1991 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} but it turned out to be the school's last hurrah for more than a decade. According to Rader, school officials dropped health/PE as a major early in the 1990s; at one point, 56 percent of the players were health/PE majors. Combined with an aging Skelly Stadium, this made it difficult to attract competitive players.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110711133243/http://www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/3249/FaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLifeFaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLife Faith Keeps David Rader in Game of Life]}}, GTR Newspapers, October 27, 2010 (retrieved October 8, 2011). Rader never won more than four games in a season again, and was fired midway through the 1999 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/3249/FaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLifeFaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLife|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711133243/http://www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/3249/FaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLifeFaithKeepsDavidRaderinGameofLife|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 11, 2011|title=GTR Newspapers – Find Local Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Union, and Owasso News, Sports, and Entertainment:Faith Keeps David Rader in Game of Life|website=www.gtrnews.com}} Tulsa joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, becoming that 16-team league's easternmost member at the time.{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/article/2512488|title=TU Gears Up for Big Move Joining WAC Will Be a Big Boost, Rader Says|date=August 27, 1995}}

Arkansas defensive coordinator Keith Burns was hired to replace Rader in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.sjsuspartans.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/031704aab.html|title=Former Tulsa head coach Keith Burns joins football staff as new defensive coordinator & defensive backs coach}} Burns' Hurricane struggled mightily, and he resigned under pressure after three seasons and a 7–28 record.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/keith-burns-1.html|title=Keith Burns Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}{{cite web|url=http://tulsahurricane.com/news/2002/12/2/Burns_Resigns_as_Tulsa_Football_Coach.aspx|title=Burns Resigns as Tulsa Football Coach|website=University of Tulsa}}

File:Kragthorpe 2009.jpg

Steve Kragthorpe was hired to replace Burns as Golden Hurricanes head coach in 2003.{{Cite web|url=https://tulsahurricane.com/news/2003/1/7/Tulsa_s_Kragthorpe_Names_Football_Coaching_Staff.aspx|title = Tulsa's Kragthorpe Names Football Coaching Staff}} In his first season at Tulsa, Kragthorpe guided a program that had won just two games during the previous two seasons to an 8–5 record and its first bowl game appearance since 1991.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/steve-kragthorpe-1.html|title=Steve Kragthorpe Coaching Record|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} In 2005, Tulsa won the Conference USA championship and then went on to beat Fresno State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Kragthorpe left Tulsa after four seasons to accept the head coaching position at Louisville.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=2725663|title=Louisville hires Tulsa's Kragthorpe|date=9 January 2007|website=ESPN.com}}

File:Todd Graham at 2014 Sun Bowl.jpg

When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season, Todd Graham sent in his application. But it was not until five years later, when Steve Kragthorpe left for Louisville, that Graham would take over the reins as the Golden Hurricane head coach.{{cite web|url=http://tulsahurricane.com/news/2011/1/10/Todd_Graham_Resigns_as_TU_Head_Football_Coach.aspx|title=Todd Graham Resigns as TU Head Football Coach|website=University of Tulsa}} After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as Rice head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's 27th head football coach on January 12, 2007.{{cite web|title=Todd Graham|url=http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/graham_todd00.html|publisher=Tulsa University Athletics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717112154/http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/graham_todd00.html|archive-date=July 17, 2011}} With an annual salary of $1.1 million Graham was the second highest-paid coach in Conference USA, behind SMU's June Jones in 2010. For his offensive coordinators, Graham turned to his good friend Gus Malzahn, then offensive coordinator at Arkansas,{{cite web|url=http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=5941114&ClientType=Printable|title=Gus Malzahn Leaves Arkansas}} as well as then WVU tight ends coach Herb Hand.{{cite web|url=http://westvirginia.scout.com/2/609200.html|title=Hand Leaves West Virginia For Tulsa}} He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach Bill Blankenship as wide receivers coach. In his final season at Tulsa, the team reached a 10–3 record that included a 28–27 upset at Notre Dame and 62–35 win over No. 24-ranked Hawaii in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl.{{cite web|title=Todd Graham|url=http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/graham_todd00.html|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Athletics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227134244/http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/graham_todd00.html|archive-date=December 27, 2011}} Graham left Tulsa after four seasons to accept the head football coach position at Pittsburgh.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=6008394|title=Third time's a charm? Pitt hires Tulsa's Graham|date=10 January 2011|website=ESPN.com}}

After a brief search, former Golden Hurricane quarterback Bill Blankenship was named Tulsa's new head coach on January 14, 2011, receiving a promotion from special teams coordinator, wide receivers and running backs coach.Eric Bailey, [http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/TU/article.aspx?subjectid=94&articleid=20110114_94_0_BillBl608081 "Bill Blankenship named new Tulsa football coach"], Tulsa World, January 14, 2011. Blankenship's first two seasons as head coach were marked by success, including a conference championship and Liberty Bowl victory in 2012. But over the next two seasons, Tulsa won a total of only five games, and Tulsa fired Blankenship on December 1, 2014.{{cite web | title=Bill Blankenship Coaching Tenure at Tulsa Concludes | url=http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120114aaa.html | publisher=University of Tulsa | access-date=December 2, 2014 | date=December 1, 2014}} On April 2, 2013, Tulsa announced that in July 2014 it would leave C-USA for the league then known as the Big East Conference.{{cite press release|url=http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/243629/University-of-Tulsa-Joins-Current-BIG-EAST-in-2014-15.aspx |title=University of Tulsa Joins Current BIG EAST in 2014–15 |publisher=Big East Conference |date=April 2, 2013 |access-date=April 2, 2013}} The following day, the conference announced its new name of the American Athletic Conference,{{cite web|url=http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/243706/new-name-in-college-sports-current-big-east-enters-new-era-as-american-athletic.aspx |title=New Name in College Sports – Current BIG EAST Enters New Era as 'American Athletic Conference' |date=April 3, 2013 |access-date=April 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421031242/http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/243706/new-name-in-college-sports-current-big-east-enters-new-era-as-american-athletic.aspx |archive-date=April 21, 2013 }} which took effect once the non-FBS schools broke from the league and formed a new Big East Conference.

Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery accepted an offer from Tulsa to become their head coach on December 11, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/12015132/tulsa-golden-hurricane-hire-baylor-bears-oc-philip-montgomery|title=Tulsa hires Baylor OC Montgomery as coach|date=11 December 2014}} Montgomery brought with him an exciting, up-tempo, pass-oriented spread offense he helped install as offensive coordinator at Houston and Baylor under head coach Art Briles.{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/73672/meet-the-playcaller-behind-baylors-rise | title=Meet the playcaller behind Baylor's rise | date=10 October 2013 }}{{cite web | url=https://tulsahurricane.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/philip-montgomery/237 | title=Philip Montgomery - Football Coach }} In Montgomery's first season at the helm, the Golden Hurricane improved to 6–7, with a loss in the Independence Bowl to cap the year.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/2015-schedule.html|title=2015 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} In Montgomery's second season, Tulsa finished 10–3,{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tulsa/2016-schedule.html|title=2016 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com}} but fell to 2–10 in 2017. Montgomery was fired following the 2022 season.

Following the dismissal of Montgomery, Tulsa announced that they had hired Ohio State offensive coordinator and former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as the program's next head coach.{{Cite web |last=more |first=Cameron Teague Robinson and |title=Tulsa hires Kevin Wilson as head coach |url=https://theathletic.com/3972901/2022/12/05/tulsa-ohio-state-kevin-wilson/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Athletic |language=en}}

Tulsa has been a member of the following conferences.{{Cite web | url=http://www.tulsahurricane.com/documents/2017/8/1//TU_FB17_MG_web_.pdf | title=2017 Record & Fact Book | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907161209/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/tulsahurricane.com/documents/2017/8/1/TU_FB17_MG_web_.pdf | archive-date=2019-09-07}}{{rp|115,153–155}}

• Independent (1895–1913)
• Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1914–1928)
• Big Four Conference (1929–1932)
• Missouri Valley Conference (1935–1985)
• Independent (1986–1995)
• Western Athletic Conference (1996–2004)
• Conference USA (2005–2013)
• American Athletic Conference (2014–present)

Tulsa has won 35 conference championships, 29 outright and 6 shared.{{Cite web | url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/tulsahurricane.com/documents/2019/7/29/TU_FB19_MG_WebOpt.pdf | title=Hurricane Football 2019 - RECORD AND FACT BOOK | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907155159/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/tulsahurricane.com/documents/2019/7/29/TU_FB19_MG_WebOpt.pdf | archive-date=2019-09-07}}

† Co-champions

Tulsa has won the following division championships.{{rp|115}}

† Co-champions

This is a list of the head coaches of Tulsa.{{rp|152}}

Tulsa has competed in 23 bowl games as of the conclusion of the 2021 season, garnering a record of 11–12.{{rp|102–108}}

{{see also|List of NCAA football retired numbers}}

{{multiple image

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|footer = Glenn Dobbs (left) and Steve Largent have their numbers 45 and 83 retired by Tulsa

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;Notes

{{reflist|group=n1}}

Announced schedules as of November 15, 2024.{{cite web| title=Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Future Schedules|publisher=FBSchedules.com| url=https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/tulsa/|access-date=23 Feb 2021}}

• {{cite book |last=ESPN |first=(television network) |author-link=ESPN |title=ESPN College Football Encyclopedia |year=2005 |isbn=1-4013-3703-1 |oclc=61264858 |ref=ESPN }}
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